


Terrified//Right Here

by mimabeann, NemesisGray, PlunnyEmpress, Wilvarin



Series: Even Keel Hofbrau [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:08:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27041740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mimabeann/pseuds/mimabeann, https://archiveofourown.org/users/NemesisGray/pseuds/NemesisGray, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlunnyEmpress/pseuds/PlunnyEmpress, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wilvarin/pseuds/Wilvarin
Summary: title from the songs by Katherine McPhee and Ashes Remain
Relationships: Warrior of Light/Warrior of Light
Series: Even Keel Hofbrau [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1973641
Comments: 3
Kudos: 2





	Terrified//Right Here

O’wain swore to himself he would never go so long without sleep ever again as he plummeted from the tree he foolishly, stupidly fell asleep in. At least, he thought, his weapons were placed at the foot of the tree and he wasn’t likely to stab himself the minute he crashed into the ground.

Only, O’wain didn’t crash into the ground. He crashed into something softer, but only in the way that wood is softer than stone. And the something he slammed into made a noise. A grunted whoosh at impact.

The Miqo'te recognized the noise as belonging to a person a full half second before the person’s strong arms caught him, wrapping vicelike around his legs and middle, arresting O’wain’s descent and stopping him from plowing face first into the ground.

His rescuer stopped his body inches away from rebreaking his nose.

Hanging there, upside down, blood rushing to his skull, hands reaching out to brace himself against the ground, O’wain spoke. “You can let go now.”

Abruptly, the hands holding his body released and O’wain rolled forward and onto his feet before turning to gaze at his rescuer and couldn’t stop gazing.

His rescuer was the most attractive male Au Ra he’d ever seen. Tall, black horns with red tips, alabaster skin and hair, and the Au Ra’s eyes, teal with a silver limbal ring. O’wain found his jaw dropping before he snapped it closed with an audible snap.

Blushing furiously, annoyed at himself for his rudeness, he glanced away, too embarrassed to say anything.

It was as the silence stretched on that O’wain looked back at the Au Ra to see the man frowning in his general direction but not looking at him. At that moment, the Miqo’te realized the Au Ra was blind.

“Thank you for catching me.” O’wain said only to see the Au Ra’s eyes snap to his face at the sound of his voice.

“No problem.” The Au Ra replied, pausing before adding almost reluctantly. “Are you alright?”

“Uh.” O’wain always had moments of wonderful ideas; the idea currently cycling through his brain was not wonderful, it was, however, the only idea he could think of in the small amount of time he had. “No,” he reached down to rub his right ankle despite knowing the Au Ra couldn’t see the action. “I think I twinged my ankle when I fell out of the tree. I don’t live far from here, could you, uh, walk me home? Make sure my ankle doesn’t give out and I tumble into a ditch and die of exposure?”

The Au Ra’s eyebrow arched in surprise as he fingered the knives at his belt and O’wain knew that the Au Ra saw right through O’wain’s plan.

“Alright.” The Au Ra finally answered and O’wain let out a breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding.

#

It was the sound of clanking armor that alerted Ehmant to ….something…. The Echo was not giving him a warning of being attacked, and it was this delay as his brain tried to reason out why there was the sound of clanking armor but no urgency of attack that had him grabbing too late at the body that fell past him.

On instinct, Ehmant reached out and grabbed the person, catching them by their legs and torso.

The person’s soft bristle tail wiped at Ehmant’s face the longer he held onto the person, clearly, the person wasn’t dead, and the person was a Miqo’te.

“You can let go now.” The Miqo’te spoke suddenly, voice muffled and farther away than what Ehmant would’ve thought.

The Miqo’te almost plowed into the ground, Ehmant caught him just in time.

Ehmant let him go, waiting for some indication that the Miqo’te was alright.

There was nothing, only the sound of nature in the background. Ehmant frowned slightly, straining his senses to see if the Miqo’te left without so much a goodbye or word of thanks. Ehmant doubted it because his senses are exceptionally good. No, the Miqo’te was merely standing there, but Ehmant didn’t know where.

“Thank you for catching me.” The Miqo’te’s voice pinpointed, Ehmant turned to the proper direction.

He knew the Miqo’te hadn’t left.

Wait, wasn’t he supposed to respond? His mother had taught him to respond when spoken to. “No problem.” Ehmant blinked before sighing internally. “Are you alright?”

The voice of Nadolig seemed satisfied and disappeared into the deep recesses of his brain.

The Miqo’te was silent again. Silent in a way that informed Ehmant he was thinking of something, a lie probably.

Why would the Miqo’te need to lie? What would he have to lie about?

“Uh.” The Miqo’te started, the texture of his voice making Ehmant’s suspicions mount. “No,” Ehmant heard a rustle of armor as the Miqo’te must’ve rubbed some part of his body before continuing the lie, “I think I twinged my ankle when I fell out of the tree. I don’t live far from here, could you, uh, walk me home? Make sure my ankle doesn’t give out and I tumble into a ditch and die of exposure?”

Ehmant blinked in shock. The Miqo’te lied to get Ehmant to help him home? Why?

Ehmant listened to the Echo again. Once again, the Echo was giving off no warnings of danger. Instead, the Echo was playing the soothing sound of Nadolig humming as she baked, her favorite sea shanty and the song Ehmant began associating with his mother.

Well, if the Echo trusted the Miqo’te, then Ehmant could too.

Also, he wanted to discover why the Miqo’te was lying.

“Alright.” Ehmant agreed.


End file.
